Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro (left) and former intelligence chief Alexandre Ramagem cheer at the crowd during a rally to support the latter's candidacy to become Rio de Janeiro's mayor, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on July 18, 2024. MAURO PIMENTEL / AFP
US immigration officers on Monday, April 13, detained Brazil's former intelligence chief, who fled to the United States after being convicted for his role in a coup plot.
The fugitive Alexandre Ramagem was sentenced in September to 16 years in prison over the failed scheme to prevent President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva from taking office after winning the 2022 election over far-right incumbent Jair Bolsonaro. Ramagem sneaked out of the country before he could be arrested.
Brazilian police said in a statement that US Immigration and Customs Enforcement had detained "a fugitive from Brazilian justice following his conviction for the crimes of armed criminal association, attempted coup d'etat, and the attempted violent abolition of the rule of law."
A police source, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed to Agence France-Presse (AFP) that the detainee was Ramagem – who is listed as being in ICE custody on the website of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
